


She Cares

by JediQueen02



Series: Star Wars: The Chosen Path [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clone Wars (Star Wars), F/M, I stand with my boys til death, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Slow Romance, So does Kasi, The Clones are innocent babies and must be protected, The Clones don't know how to handle love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:47:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediQueen02/pseuds/JediQueen02
Summary: Five times Kasi took care of her boys, and one time they took care of her.
Relationships: 501st Legion & Original Character(s), Anakin Skywalker & Original Female Character(s), CT-7567 | Rex/Original Female Character(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Star Wars: The Chosen Path [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166318
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Names

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my oldest OC's. I came up with the original draft for her back in 6th grade (7 years ago! Holy Shit!). She's gone through a lot of changes over the years but I LOVE the character she has finally become. I like to think Kasi has grown up with me! Please Comment and leave kudos at the door!

CT-7567 had just been put in charge of the 501st when he first heard the news. He’d been skeptical at first, two Jedi in command of the same battalion would surely compromise the chain-of-command but the Jedi Council had been insistent—Jedi Knights Skywalker and Enab would lead together or not at all. CT-7567 wasn’t sure what to think of Skywalker, he was young and newly promoted to Knight—an untested rookie with no experience in war. He hadn’t had the time to read Enab’s file, the news had come too soon before the first briefing. Regardless, when a tiny, waif of a woman with honey-gold hair and mischief in her blue-green eyes waltzed in with sharp words and a challenge in her voice he was more than a little shocked. He was even more surprised when she turned up at the next mission briefing with three times the amount of intel they’d originally been given and a particularly vague answer as to where she’d gotten it. She was unconventional, a wild card—if her former master was to be believed—and a damn good strategist. He could admit he was more than a little impressed as he put together the infiltration team she’d requested.

“There are only numbers in these files.” She’d said glancing up to meet his visor obviously confused.

“I’m sorry, Sir?”

“Here…” she said pointing to the designation listed, CT-5597, “…there’s only a number listed.”

“That’s the trooper’s designation number, Sir.” He said, careful to hide his annoyance at having to explain how to read a file, of all things to his General. They were in the main hanger, and he noticed several of his brothers pausing in their duties to listen.

“I figured that part out, Captain.” She deadpanned.

Now he was confused. He’d triple checked his report and he knew all the files were organized and filled out correctly. ‘ _So, what is she asking? Does she not understand how the numbers work or…?’_

“There’s a designation number listed but no names.”

‘ _Oh…Oh?’_ Now it was his turn to stare at her in confusion. Around them the entire bay had gone completely silent as the men turned to stare openly at the little _jetti_ standing there with her arms crossed as though that statement was all the explanation that was needed.

“I’m sorry…names, Sir?”

Her expression morphed into absolute shock. She stood there, her gaze finally leaving him as she quickly glanced between the other men in the hanger. They all stood there…no one making a sound as she processed his words.

“None of you have names?” She said it quietly, and the woman standing in front of him now suddenly seemed completely at odds with the little spitfire that had walked into that first briefing just a few short days ago.

“Numbers are a more efficient way to identify the troops, Sir. Soldiers don’t need names.” The words had been automatic, drilled into him on Kamino, he hadn’t really thought about it when he said it.

The little spitfire was back with a vengeance as pure fury flashed across her face before her expression slipped into a hard mask. No one moved as she turned on her heel and stalked out of the hanger bay without a word.

When she showed up at the barracks a few hours later with his datapad still clutched tightly in her hand he honestly thought she was there to kick his _shebs_. He’d thought about what he said, and he was certain that the reason she had been angry was because he had spoken out of turn. When she handed him the pad and gestured for him to look at it without a word, he thought perhaps she was making him read an order for his reconditioning. Instead, he looked down to find CT-5597’s file. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking for until he noticed a new field on the file next to the designation number.

“I read the files for the infiltration team you put together. Its exactly what I asked for. Thank you.” The men were watching the exchange curiously, even those who hadn’t been in the hanger bay earlier knew of what had occurred by now.

“Of course, Sir.”

She studied him for a moment, and it took every ounce of his training not to fidget where he stood at the way her gaze seemed to pierce through him. She eventually turned to the rest of the men, gesturing towards the datapad as she addressed the room at large.

“I added a new entry field to your personnel files. That’s where you’re going to put your names.”

They all stared at her in complete shock.

CT-5539, never one to think before he spoke, or acted, stared dead at the General as he spoke. “We don’t have names, Sir.”

He was planning the _di’kut’_ s latrine duties for the next month for speaking out of turn.

“That’s why you’re going to choose them.” The General chuckled.

“We can’t just choose names, Sir. The Kaminoans…” He was turning those latrine duties into six months.

“You’re not on Kamino anymore, and I’m not the Kaminoans. Numbers are for droids, and unless my eyesight’s suddenly taken a turn for the worse you don’t look like droids to me.”

“But…”

“Enough! CT-5539 you will not speak out of turn to the General.” He snapped.

Said General shot him a look of complete disapproval that had him shutting his mouth before he could assign a full year’s worth of latrine duty. When she was certain he wouldn’t say anything else she turned back to his brother, this time with a soft smile on her face.

“I’ve got no problem with you asking questions. I don’t do the whole ‘don’t speak until spoken to’ thing. You don’t need my permission to open your mouth.”

CT-5539 looked utterly confused as he glanced between the two of them, unsure what to do.

“Go on.” The general encouraged, a smile on her face.

“Its just, the long-necks told us we didn’t need them. Besides, we can’t just choose our own names…Can we? I thought the rule was that your parents named you but we don’t have parents so that wouldn’t exactly work.”

The general laughed. A brief chuckle as she shook her head in what he was quite sure was amusement. “You drive a hard case there, trooper.”

It was official, his General was the most confusing person he had ever met.

“You can choose whatever name you’d like. You don’t need parents to be able to pick your own name. You can use your nicknames if you’d like.”

“What do you mean, Sir?”

“I overheard some of you calling each other nicknames a few days ago, use those if you’d like. Or choose something else…how or why doesn’t matter, as long as it’s important to you.”

“So just pick a name? Anything? Just like that?”

He was starting to hope the General would regret giving his brother permission to speak whatever came to his mind, because now that she had he wasn’t likely to shut up, ever.

“Yup. That’s what I did.”

“You picked your own name?”

She paused at the door at the question. He couldn’t read the line of her shoulders, or the tone in her voice as she answered.

“My parents didn’t bother to…so I did it myself.” She spoke.

They didn’t know what to say to that, so they kept silent as she turned back and addressed them. “Please, tell the rest of your brothers what I’ve said. When they’ve chosen a name have them put it into the empty field. And let me know what you decide on, I won’t use those numbers.” With that she walked out of the door.

As soon as she departed the room erupted into excited chatter as they discussed this new order, though, with the way she phrased it he couldn’t be sure if it were one. His head was filled with a torrent of questions he had no answers for, he certainly couldn’t guess the General’s motives for this. ‘ _Perhaps this was a test_?’ He settled on that conclusion as he lay in his bunk that night.

The next morning when he handed her a roster that had already been half-filled with names, his conclusion didn’t seem quite right. She laughed brightly when she saw what CT-5539 had put into his file, **_Hardcase_**. She handed the pad back to him with a smirk before she held out her hand to him.

“Nice to meet you, Captain Rex.” She said as he took her hand in his.


	2. Wounds

Arantara had been a success, both Enab and Skywalker had proven that they were capable, intelligent leaders who did indeed work well together. He was quickly starting to realize why the _jetii_ had been so insistent they share a single command. The constant teasing between the two reminded him so much of his brothers that he was starting to realize that was how the two of them saw each other, as brother and sister— _vod’e._ He learned much about them in those early battles…but it took a few before he learned about one of Enab’s more frustrating traits.

The rocket had come out of nowhere. The only warning he got was the feeling of some unseen force shoving him through the air and launching him several feet from where he’d been standing just before an explosion sounded behind him. Once the smoke—and his head—cleared he looked around to assess possible casualties. Not a one of them was anything other than dazed. He sighed in relief as he double checked their number when he realized who was missing.

“Where’s the General?” He asked. The others quickly began scanning the surrounding area in search of her. He was beginning to worry when he heard a shout a few feet away. He ran towards the sound to find the General covered in dirt and cuts supporting herself on a rock as one hand clutched her ribs.

“General, are you hurt?” He asked as Kix, reached for his kit.

She waved the medic off as she straightened, dropping her hands to her sides as she stood. “I’m fine, just got knocked off my feet is all.”

“Sir. You should let Kix look at your…” He tried as she called her lightsabers to her hands.

“I’m fine, Rex. Nothing to worry about. We need to get back to the others.”

Kix just stared at her as he tried to reach for his bag again. “Sir. You were close enough to the explosion to get knocked off your feet. I should really…”

“I’m fine.” She insisted.

He didn’t want to, but orders were orders so he let it go. He should have realized then and there what had happened, but the General had seemed fine so he didn’t question it as she led them back towards the main group. But he hadn’t known that the General was like.

The situation deteriorated fast, they’d become outnumbered quickly and Kenobi had finally called in the gunships for a retreat. Once they landed, they worked quickly, loading up their injured and taking off. He found himself sharing a gunship with the three Generals, Cody, Kix, a few others and a critically injured Jesse. Kix had been frantic, working desperately to treat the gaping wound in his side. They were losing him.

Rex was preparing to add Jesse’s name to his remembrances when Enab forced the medic aside with a firm ‘Move’. Even concerned he was wired to follow orders and quickly shifted to Jesse’s other side as she settled in beside his brother. He didn’t even have time to ask what the kriff she was doing as she placed her hands right on top of the wound and closed her eyes. For a moment there was nothing but the hum of the ship and the sound of artillery exploding in the air nearby as everyone waited with bated breath.

Just as he opened his mouth to ask what was happening, he heard a sharp gasp from Kix. He looked down to see that the bleeding had stopped and Jesse’s skin was knitting itself together beneath her hands. When she pulled her hands away the wound was sealed shut, an angry pink scar the only sign it had been there at all.

They stared at her in awe as she allowed Kix to take her place so he could inspect his brother. “How?” He whispered as his eyes shot back and forth between his brother’s side and the General.

“Force healing.” She said, as she pulled herself to her feet. She swayed unsteadily for a moment, something he attributed to the unsteadiness of the ship.

“Jedi can use the Force to heal wounds.” Kenobi clarified. “We often use it to treat our own wounds and aid in healing processes. Some Jedi are better at it than others…Kasira is one of them.”

His questions died on his tongue when the gunship suddenly jolted violently. They all scrambled to steadied themselves as another jolt followed. He’d just gotten a decent grip on the wall when a third jolt sent General Enab tumbling back into him. He reached out instinctually to catch her. The second his left hand closed around her ribs she let out a strangled sound as her knees promptly buckled, an anguished cry followed as the action caused him to put more pressure on her side. When the ship finally settled the General sagged against him completely. He followed her to the ground, laying her down as gently as he could. The second she hit the floor she whimpered pitifully and curled in on herself, her skin suddenly gray.

“General!” He exclaimed, panicked.

Kenobi was there a second later. “Help me turn her on her back!”

Rex rushed to obey. She let out another pitiful sound at the movement, trying to fight them. The second she was positioned Kenobi began frantically tugging at her robes. “What happened?” He demanded as he worked.

“I don’t know, Sir! The second I touched her she collapsed!”

“Did anything happen while you were on recon?!”

That’s when it hit him. He’d been so kriffing stupid! He should have had Kix check her then and there!

Kenobi took one look at Rex’s face and he just knew that Kasira had taken another one of her foolish risks. “What happened?!”

“There was a rocket…it knocked all of us off our feet. The rest of us were fine, Sir, but she looked like she’d been a bit closer to it. I tried to have Kix look her over right then, but she insisted she was fine!”

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw in irritation. He wanted to yell at the Captain for listening to her but then it hit him…he didn’t know. The Jedi Master had figured out very quickly how the Clones felt about their own lives, they hadn’t even had names, and had seemed genuinely surprised at the level of respect and compassion he showed them. So of course, it would never cross the Captain’s mind. He also didn’t know Kasira’s more reckless habits, such as her tendency to outright ignore her own pain until she had no other choice.

When he finally got her robes out of the way he had the answer he needed. Her entire left side had turned a horrid mix of black and blue. A few presses along the marks confirmed what he’d suspected.

“She’s got at least two broken ribs and likely a few fractures as well. Probably caused by the impact from the explosion.” Both clones turned pale.

“But the others were fine, Sir! She was right behind us! How!? She couldn’t have been that much closer…”

“She was. She wasn’t launched in the same direction as you, was she?”

He saw the moment that the realization hit them. A multitude of feelings erupted into the force, the most prevalent being shock, confusion, and guilt.

“It wasn’t the explosion that knocked you off your feet…it was her. She must have seen the rocket coming and pushed you out of the way. She didn’t have time to move and got the brunt of it.” They were silent for several moments as he tended to his former Padawan’s friend, healing what damage he could. It was the Captain who finally spoke…a single word filled with all the things they’d never been able to express.

“Why?”

“Because that’s who she is.” Anakin finally spoke. He felt friend’s his worry, his fear clearly…but they’d been through this enough with her that the young man could contain it better than with most. “She probably didn’t even have to think about it, she just reacted.”

“But why?”

“Because Kasira would rather take care of and protect everyone other than herself.”

Later, when they finally got her to the medbay onboard the _Resolute_ , Rex found himself standing outside the door, peeking in on her worriedly. He almost jumped out of his skin when Skywalker spoke up beside him.

“Don’t blame yourself for this Rex, you or the others. She won’t”

“Yes, Sir.” Already, he knew that that was on order he wouldn’t be able to follow. The first he would later realize.

“She would do it again, with no less hesitation.”

He looked to his General then, the words ‘ **She shouldn’t** ’ dying on his lips at the look in Skywalker’s eyes. They stood there for a moment silently observing each other before Skywalker finally walked away. Rex found himself casting one last glance at his sleeping General before he too finally left.


	3. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronunciations:  
>  1\. Kasira Enab (kah-SEE-ruh eh-NAB)  
>  2\. Kahsaiira (KAY-sigh-EE-ruh)- inspired from the 'Siha' thing is Mass Effect.

Within the first few months of the war, Rex had found it harder and harder to get to the point of actually sleeping, tossing and turning in a light doze until he eventually gave up and went to find something to occupy his mind. That usually ended up being paperwork.

As Captain he had a pile of reports to fill out and send off to GAR command on a regular basis. The General’s had a shared workload of their own to do—so, naturally, Skywalker almost never did his half. Rex had mastered the man’s signature within two months of working with him. The only time it was actually his signature was when Enab beat him at Sabbacc, which happened every time she convinced him to play. Enab herself seemed to be a good sport about it on most occasions. But after she fell behind one too many times Rex just started doing hers as well. She didn’t know, and he knew she’d be mad at him for doing yet more work when he should be resting, but it kept him busy on long nights when sleep just wouldn’t come.

It was one of those nights. He’d given up after just two hours of tossing and turning, dressed in his blacks and dragging a pile of datapads to the mess. That had been several hours ago. He’d felt the beginnings of a headache about an hour in and now it was pounding away behind his eyes. He let out a frustrated sigh as he pushed the current pad away, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other hand and desperately wishing that he could sleep for just a few hours.

A sudden **_thump_** just to his left startled him so badly he knocked two of the pads off the table. 

He must have been more tired than he thought. He hadn’t even realized someone else was in the mess with him. He cursed as he retrieved the pads off the floor before turning to the person who had apparently decided to give him a heart attack in the middle of the night cycle. He nearly fell off the bench when he realized it was Jedi Knight Kasira _kriffing_ Enab standing there with that damned smirk she got whenever she found amusement at someone else’s expense.

“Sorry, did I startle you, Captain?” She chuckled at the look he shot her. That grin was significantly more amusing when it was directed at Skywalker he decided.

‘ _But damn if it isn’t a beautiful smile.’_

He blamed his exhaustion for that particular thought which he promptly shoved into the farthest reaches of his mind to never be touched again along with many other thoughts he’d had about the golden-haired _jetii_ in the months he’d known her.

He was pulled from the downward spiral in his mind by said _jetii_ taking a seat on the bench directly across from him. He finally noticed the steaming mug clutched in her hand, and the identical one she was pushing towards him. He stared at it for a moment, longer than he thought when another soft chuckle rang out into the quiet mess around them.

“It’s not poisoned, Rex.”

“Sorry, Sir. I’m just…”

“Tired?” She finished for him.

“Yeah.”

He finally picked up the mug, looking down to see it was filled with a think amber liquid that had a milky consistency to it. The smell if spices reached his nose, sharp and fragrant, sweet and he inhaled deeply to capture more of it.

“It should help with your headache.”

He raised an eyebrow, not bothering to ask how she knew. He took her word for it as he took a tentative sip. The warmth spread instantly to his entire body, syrupy sweetness unlike anything he’d ever tasted, the spices leaving a pleasant tang on his tongue. He groaned in delight as he promptly took a large gulp and then another.

“Good, huh?”

He nodded as he drank down more too busy savoring this absolute divinity drink to acknowledge her verbally. “What is it?”

“It’s a type of honey mixed with cream and spices. It always helps me relax when I can’t sleep. You looked like you needed it.”

“Thank you.” He whispered. She made a little noise that said she’d heard him but stayed quiet.

They sat like that for several minutes, quietly sipping at their drinks. His focus was drawn back to her when she shifted, raising her own mug towards her lips. He paused when he realized what exactly had caught his attention. She wasn’t wearing her usual robes and leather jacket, instead she was dressed in a pair of soft leggings and a loose red sweater—a sweater that had shifted to bare the pale expanse of her shoulder. He was trying very hard to focus on the jagged scar along the left side of her neck when he noticed it—the thick dark lines peaking out from beneath the material.

“You have tattoos?” He hadn’t realized he’d said something until she glanced up from the pad and met his gaze.

“Hm? Oh. Yes.” She shifted the sweater a bit more so he could see the two separate designs. A vibroblade was inked into her upper arm, a fanned-out deck of pazaak cards behind it. The other one was a symbol of some sort, not one he recognized done in blue and red just under her collarbone.

“What do they mean?” He asked her. He didn’t miss the way she shifted a little at the question.

“They’re for people that changed my life.”

He nodded but didn’t pry instead moving on to safer territory. “Do you have others?”

She held out her left hand to show him the numbers ‘1313’ on her ring finger normally hidden by her gloves. That one he knew what it meant; she’d never made a big secret about which part of Coruscant she came from. She shifted again, placing her left foot on the table so that he could see one done into the top. It took him a moment to realize what the interconnected dots were.

“Which constellation is that?”

“Kahsaiira.”

The pronunciation was off, but it sounded like… “Your name?”

She nodded, placing her foot on the floor as she elaborated. “It’s an old pilots’ tale. They were warrior angels, fierce and tenacious, steadfast protectors of the innocent.”

He chuckled. “So, you.”

“I wouldn’t call myself an angel.” She laughed.

“But I would call you a protector. Fierce and tenacious? You sure these angels aren’t named after you?”

It took him all of three seconds to realize she was blushing. She was already very pale, and the red stood out bright on her cheeks. He’d almost say she was flustered as she glanced down at the table in front of her. He felt his cheeks warm as he registered just what he’d said to his General of all people, a Jedi. He’d meant it as a compliment but suddenly he couldn’t ignore how much it had sounded like flirting. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and cleared his throat as they trailed off back into silence.

She seemed to be reading one of the pads very intently as they sat there. After a few minutes he was once again startled as she sat bolt upright and picked up the device in front of her. He watched her eyes scan the words a few times before she shot him that stare that meant he’d done something stupid.

“This is one of my reports. I worked on it the other day, but I couldn’t remember if I’d finished it.” She picked up another pad, another one of hers, flicking through it quickly before she glared at him. “You’ve been staying up late, multiple times a week, and doing mine, yours, and Anakin’s paperwork?”

Realizing he’d been caught his hand flew back to his neck and he gave her a sheepish smile. Skywalker couldn’t get away with this expression on a good day, so he had no idea why he thought it would work in the middle of the night cycle.

“Why didn’t you just remind me to do it?”

“You always seem to get headaches when you try, so I thought I’d do it so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.” 

“How did you know about my headaches?” She asked him.

Realizing he’d been caught he glanced away, clenching his jaw for a moment, before he sighed.

“I heard Skywalker ask Kix for the meds a few times. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw him give them to you one day. Then I started noticing that whenever he asked for them you were doing paperwork.”

“So you put two and two together.” She said, and he nodded.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She told him after a moment.

“I wanted to.” He was surprised to realize that it was true.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Tell you what? I feel bad sticking you with all the paperwork. We both know Anakin has to be blackmailed into doing it. I’ll try to get some done like I normally do, if you notice me falling behind let me know and we’ll meet here at night and do some together, in return I’ll bring more of this.” She held up the cup in her hand for emphasis. “What do you say?”

“You need your sleep, Sir. I can’t ask you to…”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.” She said as she stood up, grabbing the cup and a few of the pads as she did. “And believe me, I sleep even less than you do anyway.”

He stared into the remains of his own drink as he pondered her words. It was a fair enough deal, and perhaps he’d enjoy the company at night. _‘It couldn’t hurt…could it?’_

He felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder and turned his gaze up towards her. Amber eyes met blue-green as they regarded each other for a moment. She was searching for something, he wasn’t sure what exactly. She sighed after a moment, squeezing his shoulder gently. “Its not an order Rex, you can say no.”

She left him with those words as she made her way to the door. Just as it hissed open, he called out to her, and she paused, turning to him with an encouraging nod as she waited patiently for him to find the words.

“Goodnight.” It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but she seemed to understand what he meant as she smiled at him.

“Goodnight, Rex.”

He sat there for quite awhile after that, thinking. He could still feel the gentle warmth of her hand where it had lain on his shoulder, and he realized that it was the first time she’d ever touched him without his armor on. After that, the two of them met often in the mess late at night, a pile of datapads and two steaming mugs between them.


	4. Comfort

Despite the glaringly obvious fact that the _jetii_ were nothing like the Kaminoans had wanted them to believe, they went out of their way to keep everything to themselves. It wasn’t easy, no matter how hard they tried to look after each other. The panic and fear would set in, slowly but surely until they eventually snapped. They couldn’t understand, they weren’t engineered to feel this way, to feel weak and afraid.

It hurt Rex to see his _vod’e_ like this, but he didn’t know what to do. There were times, during their late-night meetings in the mess, where he thought about telling General Enab. The Jedi had already proven that they didn’t look at them the way the long necks did, and General Enab had gone out of her way to look after them, but every time he came close to telling her he’d think of when he was a cadet, when little Snip had panicked during a training exercise—the sound of his _vod’ika_ ’s cries echoing in his head as they took him away.

Kasira knew something was troubling Rex. She’d spent her childhood learning to read people, learning how to use them before they used her, but despite that Rex had been frustratingly difficult to read from the start. Even if she couldn’t read someone’s face, she could always feel it, their soul—projecting the truth out into the Force’s web for her to see. With Rex she didn’t even have that to go on. He’d told her once that the clones, particularly the officers, had gone through training to keep their emotions contained so that they wouldn’t affect their Jedi, and Rex was apparently very good at it.

But she knew that tick in his jaw, the hard edge that meant that something was bothering him. It had been steadily growing worse. Several times she’d caught him watching her instead of the paperwork, in those moment she felt it—the conflict. Barely there but brewing beneath the surface. She knew that there had been several instances where he had come close to telling her but each time he pulled back and she swore she heard the desperate cries of a child each time it happened.

The others weren’t very helpful either. They weren’t as difficult to read, but whatever troubled them was hidden by an impenetrable shroud of fear. The more the shroud thickened, the more worried she became. All of it had her on edge, and Ani was quick to pick up on her growing frustration. He didn’t mention it, he knew that her connection to the Living Force made her more susceptible to the emotions of others, and while the shroud of fear surrounding the men of the 501st bothered him to a degree he knew it was infinitely worse for her. He tried to distract her as best he could, and she appreciated the effort, but she just couldn’t escape the how useless she felt. It had to come to a head eventually.

With the worry and fear came the nightmares, and her already horrendous sleep schedule took a turn for the worse. Her late-night wanderings became more frequent, and more often than not she found herself pacing from one end of the ship to the other until the lights changed to signify the start of the day cycle. By her own unspoken rule, she had avoided the barracks out of respect. Yet, on that particular night, she found herself venturing there without conscious thought. She’d been about to turn back the way she came when she felt it.

It erupted out of nowhere, sheer anguish, panic, and fear suddenly burning sickeningly hot in the Force. If that hadn’t been a clear indication that something was wrong the loud desperate cries echoing from the bunks at the end of the hall certainly were. Several men stuck there heads out, clearly concerned despite their drowsy state. That concern turned to fear and panic when they saw her standing there. She didn’t have time to question that revelation when she heard a voice calling out behind her.

She turned to find Rex standing there, clearly just as surprised to see her as the others. She frowned at the way his eyes kept flicking between her and the door where the distressed cries continued to echo out into the hall. It was like they didn’t want her here, liked she’d seen something she wasn’t supposed to, and she couldn’t deny the way that hurt.

“What’s going on, Rex?” She demanded.

“Its nothing, Sir. We can handle it. You can…”

Another, stronger burst of terror had her clenching her jaw. Enough was enough. She’d respected her men’s decision to keep whatever this was from her, but she couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t take feeling this constant fear and do nothing to help. She strode towards the door, intent on doing what she could, when suddenly Rex was there in front of her.

“Please, Sir. Everything’s fine.” He was almost desperate now, and that’s when she saw it, clear as day:

_The rain pouring down, beating a fierce, familiar rhythm on the domed buildings of Tipoca City._

_“ **Skip!** ” _

_A little boy, crying as they dragged him away._

_‘Please don’t hurt him…he didn’t mean to be scared. Please bring him back!’_

_“ **Ori’vod!** ”_

She felt sick. She wanted to fly this ship to Kamino right now and strangle those bastards for what they’d done. For the way they’d treated her men—her boys. But they didn’t need her anger, not now, so she swallowed it down and looked at her Captain, speaking as softly and firmly as she could.

“I’m not going to hurt him.”

She saw the hesitation, he wanted to let her in, but he didn’t know how. She took a small step forward.

“I’m not going to take him away, Rex.” She saw the way his eyes changed, and she knew she’d hit on the cause of their fear. “I just want to help, but you have to let me.”

He was quiet, fear and hope warring in his face as he thought. The others were quiet, not knowing what to say as they watched her stand in front of their _ori’vod_ , firm and unyielding as she waited.

“Please, Rex. Let me help.” He sighed, it was short and quiet, and just like that she knew she’d gotten through to him.

He stepped aside, and she rushed for the door. They jolted in fear when they saw her standing there, leaping to their feet to protect their _vod_. Rex stepped past her then, speaking to them firmly. “Stand down.”

They started to argue but he held up a hand, speaking softer this time. “Let her help.” They looked to their _jetii_ , but they saw no disgust in her eyes, none of the cold indifference they had grown so used to. Instead, they saw compassion, understanding and **worry**.

They moved aside, and she rushed to the bunk at the end. Her heart broke at the sight of Hardcase, sweet, goofy Hardcase curled up into a ball, breathing rapid and uneven. She sat beside him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. He jolted at a touch that wasn’t his brothers, but she didn’t move away rubbing his arm softly as she spoke in a soothing tone.

“Its alright, Hardcase its me.” His gaze shot to her. “That’s it, I need you to keep your eyes on me for a moment. Can you do that?” He hesitated for a moment but nodded. His breathing was still uneven, but she felt his trembling subsiding a little. 

“I’m going to help you calm your breathing, alright? But I need you to trust me.” She held his gaze as he thought about it before he nodded once. “Okay.” She said as gave him a soft smile and a nod before she turned to the others.

“I need you to help me move him.”

They did as she directed. Lifting him up slightly so that she could climb onto the bunk before letting him back down so that his head was on her lap, pressed against her stomach. She reached to take his hand and he latched onto it like a lifeline. “Now I need you to focus on my breathing. Try and match yours to mine, in and out, nice and slow.”

He did so, burying his face into her stomach to follow the breaths there. In and out. She didn’t let go of his hand, instead using her free one to rub his head soothingly. Slowly but surely his breathing began to steady. She kept it up. Helping him breathe steadily, whispering soothing nonsense too quiet for the others to here.

They stood there, watching silently, in awe of this woman as she comforted their _vod_. They felt a slight sense of shame for not having trusted her. They knew, now more than ever, that their General was nothing like the cold and unfeeling long necks. She was warm, fierce yet gentle in equal measure, and she would protect them. She would walk through hell to keep them safe.

After a moment Hardcase’s breathe evened our completely. “He’s asleep.” She whispered. She didn’t move.

“Thank you.” Rex said in reply.

She glanced up to see those same two words reflected in the eye of the others. She merely gave them a brief smile before she looked back down to Hardcase, now completely curled into her lap.

“How did you know what to do?” Jesse spoke up from his place on the bunk opposite them.

“The same reason I don’t sleep much…Nightmares.” She replied. When she saw their faces she elaborated.

“You already know I was an orphan, born on level 1313. I lived on the streets…and one of the first things I learned is that the galaxy isn’t always kind to little girls.” She swallowed, and the look in her eyes spoke of things she wasn’t saying. “That’s not the kind of thing your dreams let you forget. I’ve woken up like this more times than I care to count.”

None of them knew what to say to that. They didn’t want to think of their fierce General in this state. They said nothing else, each one of them slipping off back to their bunks. Though most chose to stay near the General, and the comfort she provided them. At one point they offered to help move their _vod_ so she could leave but she refused. Hardcase curled into her tighter when she shifted, murmuring words in Mando’a.

The two of them sat there, awake long after the others as they often were. He was nearing sleep himself when she called out.

“Rex?”

“Yes, _ner’jetii_?”

“What does _alor_ ’ _ika_ mean? Hardcase keeps calling me that, and I’ve heard the others use it too. I’m guessing its Mando’a.”

“It is. It means ‘little general’.” He whispered just as sleep claimed him.

Now, whenever the boys needed comfort, they went looking for her. She never asked, never judged. She offered it freely, with warmth in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
>  1\. vod/vod'e: brother/brothers (can be sister/sisters)  
>  2\. vod'ika: little brother/sister  
>  3\. ori'vod: big brother/sister  
>  4\. ner'jetii: my Jedi  
>  5\. alor'ika: little leader/general

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally back! I'm in a writing binge (I wrote this in one sitting). Updates will be out for my Assassin's Creed fanfic by Wednesday. Had a bit of depression hit me back in November. Finally got myself out of it in January. With the Spring semester finally starting and my boss doubling my hours I've been busy but I finally adjusted to the new schedule enough to get back to work.
> 
> Mando'a Translations:  
>  1\. di'kut: idiot  
>  2.jetii: Jedi  
>  3\. shebs: ass
> 
> Hardcase doesn't have a number listed so I gave him 5539. CT-5597 is Jesse.


End file.
